The Mysterious Sony Playstation of 4 Privet Drive
by Lunaria
Summary: Ever wonder how Dudley was able to obtain a Playstation more than a year before its UK release? Here is the story of Vernon Dursley's quest for the ultimate next gen system (well for '94 at least).


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters contained in it, that right belongs to the one and only J.K. Rowling. However, I do own the characters in which I have created for this story.

Summary:  The story of how Dudley actually had a Playstation to throw out a window in Goblet of Fire.

The Mysterious Sony Playstation of Number Four Privet Drive

It was a blissful summer day at Number Four Privet Drive.  Even more blissful since Harry was still at school, and would not return for another week.  The Dursley's were trying to enjoy there time together before the terror decided to come home for another summer.

Surprisingly, Dudley missed his cousin.  Well, only because it meant that he had no one to bully, get in trouble, or steal food from.

Of course food was all that was on Dudley's mind since his mum put the family on a diet.  All Dudley wanted to do was eat cake and ice cream again.   The day his game magazine arrived was his saving grace.

This was the only reading Dudley liked, magazines about video games and other toys.  There was an article about a new system being developed, the Sony Playstation.  After reading the specs on it Dudley knew he had to have it immediately.

Dudley waddled into the kitchen where his father was reading the paper and his mother was making tea.

"Dad, dad, I want this for my birthday!" He shouted excitedly.

His dad looked at the article.

"I don't think that will be possible Dudley, it might have to wait until another birthday" He replied looking at the dates.

"But Daddy I want one now!" Dudley screamed holding a magazine article in his hand.

"Duddy-kins, it doesn't come out here until September of next year."

Dudley pondered for a moment; then he inhaled an ocean full of air, the wrath soon followed.  

"But I can't wait that long, I want my new toy now!!"

Vernon scanned the article; it stated that the first release would be in Japan, on December 2, 1994.

"Son, it does not come out in Japan until December, do you want me to get it for you for Christmas?"  Vernon offered.

Dudley was breathing in and out heavily and slowly.

"NO, WANT ONE NOW!!!!" He screamed loud enough for Harry to hear him.

Petunia panicked.  She ran to Dudley and smoothed out his hair and tried to calm him down.

"Don't worry Duddy-kins, Daddy will go to Japan and talk to those men about getting you that toy.  Everything will be okay."

Vernon was scheduled to go to Japan in two days for Grunnings, he was very glad that his trip was in the vicinity of Sony's head offices.

***

Vernon Dursley arrived at Sony at 7:00 a.m.  He was due to fly back to England tomorrow so he had to work swiftly or deal with Dudley's wrath.  Its not like he did not love Dudley, he just did not want to have to deal with his temper.

He went to the information desk and asked to speak to the people in charge of the Playstation.  He was surprised that the secretary spoke such good English.  The secretary, Mikato, asked him what his purpose of visit was.  Vernon said he wanted get a Playstation.  She seemed reluctant, but called someone on the phone anyway, like she had dealt with ignorant western men before.

After Mikato spoke on the phone for ten minutes, she escorted him to a very nice waiting room.  She said someone would see him in a moment.

It had been twenty minutes, but no one had come in the waiting room, he was all alone.

It was not until one hour later that someone finally came out to see Vernon.  It was a man in his mid thirties, short black hair and black eyes.

"Hello, I'm Mr.  Himato, I understand you want to acquire a Playstation?" He asked also with good English

"Yes, my son Dudley really wants one, and he does not want to wait until December to get one." He stated in an irritated manor.

"You do understand that the system is not ready for launch?"

"Yes, but surely you have some ready; can't I buy one from you?"

The man seemed to be pondering for a moment.  Vernon was tired and wanted to get this over with.

"I'll pay you anything, and I won't tell a soul you sold it to me."

The man said that he had to go into his office for a moment; telling Vernon to wait a little longer.

*** 

Mr. Himato stepped into his office, frustrated with the Western man.  He called his boss to explain what had happened.

"He really wants one of our consoles?" He questioned

"Yes, but there are still several bugs with the system." Mr. Himato answered.

His boss pondered for a moment.

"Well, if it will get this unpleasant man to leave us alone, sell him one of the consoles and give him that Mega Mutilation 3 game that Codemasters sent us, it's a crappy game and were scrapping them anyway, might as well let the guy have some fun, and its in English."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, but make sure he keeps quiet."

"How much do I charge?"

"Well we were going to sell the units in the UK for £299, so charge him £500 for our convenience."

"Yes sir."

Mr. Himato left his office; glad that he would be getting rid of this annoying man.

*** 

Vernon waited for twenty minutes, getting angrier by the second; he had never been treated so badly in his life.

Mr. Himato came out of his office smiling.

"Well, it looks like I can sell you one of the proto-types."

"For how much?" He questioned worriedly

"£500"

Vernon almost had a heart attack, but tried to remain calm.  He knew that Dudley would be so happy if he did this for him.

"I'll take it."

Mr. Himato explained that they would give him a game for free which pleased Vernon.  He was escorted back to the entrance while his system was boxed and instructions added.  They even told him where to get all the proper cables to hook it up to his TV, since Japanese and British TV's were different.

The console came in a simple cardboard box.  The instructions, he was assured, were in English.

***

Dudley was so happy to get his way once again.  It had only taken twelve hours and three trips to the store for his father to hook up his Playstation, but it was worth it.  He enjoyed Mega Mutilation 3; knowing it would have hours of replay value, especially since no games would be released until December.

*** 

Of course it sad to note that in frustration with his diet, his cousin, and Mega Mutilation 3, Dudley hurled his Playstation out a second story window.  He cried and complained for weeks, but his dad refused to buy him another until it was released in the UK.

***

A/N:  I was inspired to write this after a visit to the Harry Potter Lexicon's FAQ.  The site owner stated that it might be possible for the system to be imported into the UK, so I decided to see if it were in fact possible.  I did some research and discovered that it would be impossible for Dudley to have a Playstation even if it was imported because of its December release date for 1994.  I contacted the owner and told him and he said that it was fun to think of stuff like in order to prove the canon right, that's were this story came from.  This is my theory on how we can prove the canon to be true.  If you want either the address for HP Lexicon or my Playstation source, leave your email address in your review, or just email me.


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